TLC cancels Kate Gosselin's 'Kate Plus 8'

After her 2009 divorce from Jon, the renamed show saw its ratings steadily decline.

August 15, 2011|By Kelly Federico Sather, Of The Morning Call

Cable channel TLC has canceled the reality show chronicling the lives of Berks County's Kate Gosselin and her eight children.

TLC said Monday it canceled "Kate Plus 8," which followed the single mom from Wernersville raising a set of twins and sextuplets.

The last episode of the show will air Sept. 12, although the network also stated, "By the end of this season 'Kate Plus 8' will have hit the 150-episode mark (including 'Jon & Kate Plus 8'); an exceptional milestone. TLC hopes to check in with Kate and the family periodically with specials in the future."

The ratings for "Jon & Kate Plus 8" peaked at 11 million on June 22, 2009, when Gosselin and her husband, Jon, announced they were separating. The couple were divorced in December 2009.

Jon Gosselin became the regular subject of tabloid magazine stories, as he dated a series of women after their separation.

TLC changed the show to "Kate Plus 8," but ratings steadily declined. The latest episode on Aug. 8 had barely more than 1 million viewers.

Kate Gosselin reached a much bigger audience when she competed in 2010 on the ABC show "Dancing with the Stars." She didn't win, and the show later named her the "best worst dancer" in its history.

TLC has followed the Gosselin kids since the sextuplets were born to the Berks County couple in 2004, first in a series of specials and then with "Jon and Kate Plus 8." That show began in 2007, filming twins Maddy and Cara and sextuplets Hannah, Aaden, Joel, Leah, Collin and Alexis. Originally residing in Elizabethtown, the couple moved to Wernersville in 2008.

The show depicted the kids going to the dentist, excited to get elaborate playhouses and going on trips.

"Jon and Kate Plus Eight" ended its run in November 2009 after Jon went to court to prevent the network from filming the kids. A judge sided with TLC, and "Kate Plus 8" started June 6, 2010, debuting to 3.4 million viewers. By September, the show pulled in only 1.6 million viewers.

Kate Gosselin made an area appearance in December 2008. Several hundred people showed when she visited Whitehall Township bookstore Hackman's Bible Book Store to sign copies of her book, "Multiple Blessings."